The incident is reported to have taken place in a forest area in Tenkasi district on Sunday.
A man was left seriously injured after he was attacked by a sloth bear in a forest area in Tamil Nadu. Two people who tried to rescue him were also seriously injured and are undergoing treatment at a local hospital, the police said.
The attack - which was caught on camera - shows the wild animal on top of the man and ferociously biting on his face even as people around are heard screaming in a bid to scare the bear.
The incident is reported to have taken place in a forest area in Tenkasi district on Sunday.
According to the police, the man, who is a local vendor who sells food items, panicked on seeing the animal and rammed his two-wheeler over the bear. The bear first pounced on him and then attacked him, severely biting his face as he lay on the ground. Two people who tried to rescue him were also attacked by the animal, said the police.
"Two men, who are critical, are undergoing treatment at the Tirunelveli Government Medical College Hospital," a police officer told NDTV.
Later, forest officials captured the animal after tranquilizing it.
Officials say though bear sightings and bears attacking sheep are common in the area, this is the first time human beings have been targeted.